Soul Catcher

First-time novelist Kersey melds elements of the Indian curse story and the disaster novel in this fast-paced horror tale set in contemporary Seattle. When a gang of street punks murders the shaman Black Wolf, they unwittingly release Williwaw, a wind elemental of Native American mythology bent on avenging the death. As Williwaw seeks out deaf 12-year-old Evan Baker, ``the boy with no ears'' whom Black Wolf saw in a cryptic final vision, the elemental wreaks destruction that touches the lives of many. These include public defender Paul Judge, an investigative reporter, a retired high-school teacher and a young widow, all of whose personal experiences give the novel's powerful scenes of natural catastrophe a convincing human dimension. If Kersey's multiperspective narrative seems a nod to Stephen King, his main characters are a bow to Dean Koontz: Evan is protected throughout his ordeal by a faithful dog, while his mother and Paul, who are both attractive but inexplicably unattached, are destined to be brought together by the young boy's peril. The story holds few surprises, and the explanation for why Evan has been singled out by Williwaw proves anticlimactic. Nevertheless, Kersey shows an aptitude for bringing characters to life, as well as for finding fresh possibilities in some of the genre's stalest ideas. (Nov.)